Send message to Author

Paper short abstract:

Highlighting differences and similarities between llamas shearing and chaku ritual practices, the presentation discusses how people archive relational enskilment by being attentive and corresponding to other lifelines, such as animals and Pachamama, in Laguna Blanca, Northwestern Andean Argentina.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation draws on the concept "relationality" as a meshwork of relations among "becomings" or "lifelines" (human and non-human beings) according to Tim Ingold, and conceives of "uywaña" as an Andean indigenous practical theory of relationality. It shows how people incorporate, enact, produce, and are produced by, such a relationality through ritual practices, focusing on the llamas shearing and the chaku of vicuñas in Laguna Blanca, Northwestern Andean Argentina.

Here, shepherds rear herds of sheep and llamas as well as they rear children, whereas wild vicuñas are said to be the personal herd of the Pachamama-Mother Earth. In order to shear both llamas and vicuñas, people have to ask Pachamama for permission, making offerings, feeding and "paying" her by burying goods. During the llamas shearing, shepherds associate themselves and their children with animals, decorate both people and llamas, and bind woolly colorful bows on the animals' back that will "pay" the Pachamama for the pasture by falling to the ground. Through these and other circular ritual practices, people relate each other within the family and the community rearing animals and being reared by them mutually, they protect and are protected by Pachamama, being careful to her and caring of her, thereby putting into practice "uywaña" (mutual rearing) as an indigenous theory of relationality.

Highlighting differences and similarities between llamas shearing and chaku ritual practices, the presentation discusses how people archive relational enskilment by being attentive and corresponding to other lifelines, such as animals and the Pachamama.